Mathri (Crispy salty crackers)

Mathri is a traditional classic North Indian afternoon tea time snack. It is made with maida (all-purpose flour) and sooji (cream of wheat), to make mathri crispy and flaky oil is added to the dough and ajawain (carom seeds) is added to it to give the flavor. After making the dough it is rolled into small circles and deep fried.

Mathris are usually served at weddings and poojas and made in almost every household on special occasions and festivals or entertaining guests. Mathri is also a great snack to carry while travelling as it is dry and can be stored for weeks in an air tight container. Mathris are the perfect snack for anywhere, anytime.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of all purpose flour (maida) or whole wheat flour½ Cup cream of wheat (sooji)3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil½ Teaspoon carom seeds (ajwaiin)1 Teaspoon salt or to your taste½ Cup of water or as needed to make the dough3 Cups vegetable oil for frying the mathri’s

1. In a bowl place all purpose flour and cream of wheat, and mix them together.

2. Add carom seeds, salt, and and mix with flour.

3. Add oil and mix it by rubbing between your thumb and fingers till everything is incorporated well and flour mix becomes crumbly.

In a bowl add flour & sooji & Ajwaiin & mix

Add oil and mix

4. Add a little water at a time and mix it with flour in a rotating motion from the center of the bowl to outward until it form a dough and it cleans the sides of the bowl, knead it for few minutes.

Flour mix becomes crumbley

Add water little at a time

5. Once the dough become smoth, knead the dough with wet hands make a ball and cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for 15 minutes. Dough should be firm.

Mathri dough

Cover the dough with damp cloth

Directions for rolling the Mathri’s:

1. Grease the hand and knead the dough for few minutes to make it smooth, keep it covered with the damp towel so that dough doesn’t become dry while making the mathris.

2. Take a small portion of the dough and roll it in between your palms in to a small flat ball. Make few balls and keep them aside.

3. Place the ball on the rolling board or on a chackla (Indian roti rolling board) and with the help of a rolling pin roll in to a 2 to 2½ ” circle, it should be rolled thicker than puri and roti, repeat until you make at least 10 to 12 mathris

4. Take a fork and prick several times each mathri, so that they won’t rise like pooris when frying.

5. Repeat the process until you make all the mathris.

With the dough make small balls

Roll Mathri

With the fork prick the Mathri's

Rolled Mathri's

Directions for frying the Mathris:

1. While rolling the mathris heat 3 cups of oil in a frying pan or kadhai on medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until oil become hot.

2. To check if the oil is ready, drop a small ball of dough in the hot oil, if the dough starts sizzling and come up slowly it means it is the right heat but if it becomes too dark quickly it means oil is too hot, turn the heat down.

Heat the oil

Drop a small dough in hot oil

3. Now pick 10 to 12 mathris one at a time and very gently slip them into hot oil and immediately with the help of a slotted spoon start flickering hot oil over the top of the Mathri’s.

Slip in the Mathri’s in hot oil

With the spatula flicker oil over Mathri’s

4. let the Mathris fry for 1 minute then flip them to other side and fry for one minute, flip Mathris around few times for about 8 to 10 minutes or until they become golden brown on both sides.

5. Fry mathris on low heat otherwise Mathri’s will stay soft they will not be crisp.

6. Once both side of Mathri's become golden brown lift the Mathris with the slotted spoon and shake all the oil out, then take the Mathris out from the hot oil and put them on a plate over paper towel, so that all the extra oil absorbed by the towel.

Turn the Mathri's to other side

Mathri's are fried

Take the Mathris out of the hot oil

Place the fried Mathri's over paper towel

6. Turn the heat down and drop another batch of Mathris, after few minutes raise the heat, because oil is hot and you do not want to fry Mathris quickly. Repeat the process until all the Mathris are fried.

7. Store Mathr's in an air tight container.

8. Serve Mathri's with pickle of your choice.

Tips:

1. To save time, fry mathris at the same time you are rolling them.

2. If you like your Mathri flaky then add more oil when making the dough for Mathri.

3. Instead of rolling one Mathri at a time they can be rolled like you make cookies.Take a bigger portion of the dough and roll it into a large circle. With the fork prick all over the rolled dough. Take a round cookie cutter cut the large circle into small circles. If you do not have a cookie cutter then take a small glass or any bottle cap to cut the Mathri's.

Rool the dough
into circle

With the fork prick the dough

Cut the large circle into small circles

Dough cut into small circles

Remove the extra dough

Mathr's

4.Food processor or dough maker could be used to make the dough. In the food processor add all purpose flour, cream of wheat, carom seeds, salt and oil and run the food processor for few second to mix all the ingredients together. While food processor is running add little water at a time and make the dough. Take the dough out from food processor and knead the dough and make a ball and cover it with damp towel and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Mathri

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